When Good Lilys Go Bad
by Carmen Duckie
Summary: It's the Beginning of the last year at Hogwarts for Lily. She wants so much to tell James how she feels. Well, let's just say her friend Hestia gives her a nudge in the right direction. Lily - James
1. Disclaimer

**Author's Note:**  
  
Hey all, this is Carmen again. Just making a new fan fiction. I haven't done Harry Potter ones before, except for an Rp that a friend and me did, but that one doesn't count. ;; So anyways, I'm going to try and make this longer then what my fan fictions usually are, which is about five to eight chapters. Anyways, hope you like.   
  
**Disclaimer:**  
I know, she's taking a whole page for a disclaimer! But I hate writing 'Disclaimer' blah blah blah on each page. And if I don't do it to where people see it, they'll say I'm a thief. So here's my Disclaimer, out and loud. Well, supposedly loud, anyways.  
  
All characters in this story that you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. Any that you see that aren't in the books, like if I put Tiffany Heart, you'll know that character belongs to me, because this is not a cross-over.  
  
Also, if I use any songs, you know they don't belong to me, because, Frankly, M'dear, I can't write a damn. –Blink– Yep, I make up cheesy jokes.  
  
**On With The Show!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
**  
The day was a Wednesday. The sky was bright and blue, birds soaring through the air. The sun shone brightly above, and it wasn't too hot, or too cold. It was warm, and just right. Lily Evans hated it.  
  
Today was the day that all Hogwarts students returned to their school. For Lily, this was her seventh year, and her final. After this, she wouldn't see her friends again, nor would she see James Potter, the boy she'd always had an eye on. Of course, she'd missed everyone, especially him, over the summer. But now that school had come, she was wishing she were back in her first year. That would've given her more time with James. But, sadly, that fact couldn't be helped.  
  
You see, Lily Evans was Head Girl this final year. She'd always told off James and his friends for picking on others. She'd also turned James down every single time he asked her out for a reason that was so totally unknown to Lily that she felt like ironing her fingers for being so stupid.  
  
Steam billowed through the smoke stack on the engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Pushing her trolley for the last time seemed to slow Lily down. She began thinking back to the first day she'd ever seen the train. Better yet, the day she got her letter of acceptance. It pained her to just think that she'd never go back to that school she'd loved too much after this year. Sighing, the redheaded girl pushed her trolley to the luggage department, dropping it off with the luggage man.  
  
"Lily! Lily Evans! Over here!"  
  
Lily lifted her gaze from the cement below her feet to the source of the voice that called her name. When she saw the person, her face lit up. Hestia Jones, her best friend, was waving to her, her arm brushing her raven colored hair all over the place. Lily picked up her pace to join Hestia.  
  
"Hestia, I missed you!" Lily squealed, pulling her friend into a hug.  
  
"You too, Lily! Shall we find us a compartment?"  
  
Nodding, Lily and Hestia set off into the train to find an empty area for them to sit and talk in. For the first few minutes, they couldn't find a single empty compartment. All of them were either full or occupied. Finally, at the back of the train, Lily and Hestia found a single empty room. With a few swift steps, the both were in, and they slid the glass door shut.  
  
"So, how was your summer, Lils?"  
  
"Oh, fine. Just thinking about school and avoiding Petunia's evil glares towards me. The normal. You?"  
  
"Thinking about Sirius Black."  
  
If Lily had had anything in her hands, she would've dropped it that instant. Sirius Black? So that was whom Hestia liked? Lily paused for a moment, then looked at her friend who seemed to read her mind and nodded.  
  
"Really? I would've never guessed, Hest!"  
  
"Yeah, well, I've liked him since the first year. Kind of like you and James, y'know." Hestia gave her a knowing grin.  
  
Lily tried to scowl at her friend, but it turned into an embarrassing blush that crept to the roots of her hair. Was she really that obvious? If it were, then surely James would know. Lily nearly died.  
  
"Is it that obvious?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"To everyone?"  
  
"No, just me."  
  
Lily sank into her seat, thankful that no one besides Hestia knew. The knot in her chest subsided. She didn't really feel like having James know about her feelings for him. Blinking, Lily sat up again, looking to her friend. Hestia never had trouble confronting the one she liked. Maybe she could help her . . .  
  
"Hest, I have a favor to ask you."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
Lily sighed, and then told her about her problems. She told Hestia about how she really liked James but didn't know what to do about it. Hestia listened closely, nodding and 'Aha'ing here and there. When Lily was done, a pleading expression dawned on her face. Hestia scratches her head.  
  
"Well," she said after a while, "You could always drop him little hints here and there. It'd do some good, shock would, to James-"  
  
The glass door slid open and Hestia stopped abruptly. Both girls looked up.  
  
"Talking about us, were you, Hestia?"  
  
Two black haired boys walked in. One wore glasses that hid mischievous brown eyes. The other had slightly longer black hair and dark, almost black eyes.  
  
"Black," Hestia spoke.  
  
"Potter," Lily said.  
  
The two boys beamed down at the girls.  
  
"You have our carriage," James spoke, leaning against the glass sliding door.  
  
Lily and Hestia gave each other glances, and then burst out laughing. James and Sirius, on the other hand, sat right next to the girls, giving them both a quizzical look. Lily wiped her eyes for nonexistent tears. Hestia snorted.  
  
"Really, Potter? Well, show us where your names are, then." Lily said with a smirk.  
  
James coughed, opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it again and crossed his arms. What was Lily playing at? She seemed more confident now than she ever did any time he'd seen her in the past years.  
  
"Oh, well. Mind if we join you, Ladies?" Sirius spoke in a debonair tone, sitting next to Hestia and putting his arm up behind her. Hestia rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling with a half-smile tugging at her lips.  
  
"If you insist," both girls said at the same time.  
  
A few minutes in, the horn sounded, which signaled the departure of the train. James sat there next to Lily, playing with his stolen Snitch. Lily was rolling her eyes and leaning up against the window. Hestia sat there, reading a book, while Sirius cast his glance over her shoulder. Apparently, though, he whispered something to her during that time. Hestia gave him a sharp jab in the rib cage with her elbow. Lily snorted.  
  
"Trolley. Any of you dearies want something?"  
  
Without noticing the time, they jumped at the sound of the kind trolley lady. Her cart was filled with candies of every kind, ranging from Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans to Licorice Wands. Hestia shook her head, and Sirius followed in suit. Lily bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should get something. James looked over towards her, then back at the trolley.  
  
"Ten of everything," he said, tossing a bag of galleons and sickles and knuts onto the cart. The other three looked up as James went to grab the lot that he bought. Lily coughed, and then everyone went back to what they were doing beforehand.  
  
When James came back in, his arms were laden with candies of all sorts. Using his wand, James conjured up a small table to set the stuff on. Lily was about to tell him off because you weren't allowed to do magic outside of school, including on the train. But then she remembered that they all were of-age now. She bit her tongue to keep quiet.  
  
"So . . .Who wants what?"  
  
Sirius dove into the chocolate frogs and began ripping the boxes open for the cards. Soon, there were ten chocolate frogs bouncing around the compartment. Each of the four grabbed some and stuffed them into their pockets and laughed. Lily was laughing so hard that she fell into James. The boy grinned down at her, his brown eyes glinting. Lily sat up and glared at him slightly, then added a slight smirk. James still wondered what she was up to.  
  
Lily decided to take Hestia's word and drop James a few hints. If he didn't start getting them near the end of the year, then Lily would just scream, shave her head, and change her name to Bartholomew. Snorting, Lily picked up a licorice wand and stuck it in her mouth.  
  
"So," Hestia said, trying to make conversation, "What'd everyone do over their summer?"  
  
"I was at James's house, mate," Sirius shrugged. "Got nothing better to do."  
  
"Yeah, over at my house all summer," James grinned. "Pigging out on everything in sight." Sirius chucked a chocolate frog box at him. James just snickered.  
  
"Well," Hestia said, "I was with my Mum. Y'know she's in St. Mungo's. Got bit by a jinxed water hose."  
  
Lily winced. Sirius made a face. James coughed. Hestia's mother was a Muggle. Her father had died when she was young. Sirius withdrew his arm, setting it at his side.  
  
"So, what about you, Lily?" Hestia wanted to get the attention off of her. Whenever someone said something about her mother, she would lose her quirky touch and become saddened.  
  
"Well, I – Err," Lily thought. What did she do over the summer, besides daydream about James? "Oh yeah, I learned Quidditch. It's pretty fun, you know. I'd never think it would be something that was real enjoyable."  
  
Sirius made a fake gasping noise while Hestia clapped for her friend. James, on the other hand, started laughing, as if it weren't possible for her to learn Quidditch. Catching his breath, he asked a simple question.  
  
"So what position are you best with?"  
  
"Seeker."  
  
James sat back. Seeker was his position. Sirius raised an eyebrow to him. Would Lily try-out for the team? If she were anything good, he would lose his position.  
  
"Ha, I bet you couldn't beat me," James said, relaxing a bit.  
  
"And I bet I could give you a run for your money, "Lily said, pulling out a book and hiding her grinning face behind it. James choked on his licorice wand. Sirius came over and gave him a nice slam on the back that knocked it out of his throat.  
  
Everyone stared at Lily after that. After a few seconds, she felt the uncomfortable sensation of someone watching her. Casting her gaze over the top of the book, she saw everyone's eyes upon her. Putting her book down, Lily became red in the face.  
  
"What're you staring at?" She demanded.  
  
"Nothing!" All three said, and went back to their prior doings.  
  
An hour passed and the light out the window soon grew dim. They were almost to Hogwarts. Lily held her breath for a few moments and shut her eyes. She felt a nudge coming from James and she opened one eye to glare at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What're you doing?"  
  
"Imagining you naked."  
  
James stopped nudging her and just stared, his face growing red. Lily blinked her one eye and rolled it.  
  
"I'm only joking."  
  
James just stared at her still. After a while, she got tired of it and pushed his face away. Yet again, she felt as if she was being watched. Lily returned to her book. She decided to let them stare all she wanted. She wouldn't let that bug her and her thoughts.  
  
Ten minutes ago, she couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts. Now they were finally there. A knot tightened in Lily's chest again, as if she didn't want to exit the train. It felt too much like home, for some reason, and she didn't want to leave. And if anyone bugged her, she thought, she would cry.  
  
"C'mon, Lily," Hestia's voice broke through her thoughts.  
  
James and Sirius had already left. Lily sighed, standing up. Hestia looked at her friend, wondering why she had such a distraught look about her face.  
  
"What's wrong, Lily?"  
  
Sighing, Lily looked towards her. "I'm just going to be home-sick after this year."  
  
** "That's all."**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
**  
"C'mon, Lily. The carriages are waiting for us."  
  
Hestia and Lily walked ahead of most of the other students that were trying to get the first carriage or the empty carriage. Tilting her head sideways, Lily caught a glimpse of James and Sirius trying to find their own self-drawn cart. An empty one pulled up midway between the two groups, halting and swinging its doors open on its own accord. Lily and Hestia looked through the carriage to the other side where they saw James and Sirius staring back at them.  
  
They made a mad dash into the carriage, which ended them up squished next to each other: Lily to James, Hestia to Sirius.  
  
"Well, isn't this cozy," James said, scooting closer than ever to Lily.  
  
Lily, who was trying not to blush to the roots of her hair, snuggled closer, giving James the shock of his life. Sirius, who sat across from him, broke out into a fit of laughter. Lily smirked. Hestia elbowed Sirius in the ribs again.  
  
"What'd I do?" was his answered hiss of pain.  
  
James stared down at Lily, making a feeble attempt to push her off and ask her what the heck was wrong. Lily smirked once more, then turned away to stare out of the small window that was provided on her side.  
  
Sirius and James made confused faces at each other. Hestia could see that Lily had taken her 'drop little hints' advice, and was carrying on with it quite well. James seemed so confused that his eyebrows were likely to fall off if they went any higher.  
  
"So, what're you looking forward to this year, Jones?" Sirius had finally broken the silence that dimmed the excitement in the carriage.  
  
"Ah, nothing but for someone to tell someone else they like them," Hestia answered, looking to Lily. Sirius seemed to see this and whispered something to Hestia, making her snicker and giggle. Lily and James both looked over.  
  
"Who?" They said in unison.  
  
Sirius and Hestia just grinned and laughed at the two. "No one," they both said.  
  
Sighing, Lily looked back towards the window, wishing for them to get to the castle quick before she just explodes in front of all of them. And she really didn't want to spill her secrets in front of James.  
  
"When are we getting out of here," Lily groaned for everyone to hear. James looked over to her and gave her a jab in the ribs.  
  
"What do you want now?"  
  
"Uh . . .Nevermind."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Lily stared back outside. A few carriages passed as they made their way up to Hogwarts. Lily bit her bottom lip until it literally bled. She could taste it in her mouth. But it was worth it not to say anything she didn't want to.  
  
"So . . .Padfoot, that was some save you did the other day," James spoke across the carriage to his best mate. Obviously, he was talking about Quidditch that he and Sirius had played a few days before. Sirius almost always stayed at James's house for the summer.  
  
"Yeah, but you're loosing your touch, mate," Sirius grinned, "Couldn't catch the Snitch you nicked, now could you? We might have to replace you with Evans over there."  
  
James tried to speak, but sputtered instead. Both Lily and Hestia erupted in such a fit of giggles that it seemed to rock the carriage.  
  
A few minutes later, as the carriage was almost to the castle, Hestia fell off her seat for no reason in particular. Shaking her head, Lily leaned over to pull her up, not realizing James went to do the same. For a brief moment, the tips of their fingers touched, and Lily jumped back into her seat. Thinking of an excuse quickly as to her reaction, Lily swatted at her hair.  
  
"Eurgh! There was a spider, I swear . . ." Lily brushed out her fingers through her hair and falsely searched through the ends to find the non-existent spider.  
  
"Aye, Lily, that spider must know how to apparate, then?" Hestia grinned from where she was on the floor, getting Sirius to help her up instead of the other two. Lily rolled her eyes, fighting down a furious blush.  
  
Lily stared out the window, her eyes beginning to droop of drowsiness. She'd woken up way too early. With a yawn, she struggled to keep her heavy eyelids from closing, without success. So sleepy . . .Lily was drifting off to sleep, laying her head on something soft and warm to her right side . . .  
  
"Err, ah, Lily, wake up," Someone was nudging her slightly.  
  
Sitting up, the girl found herself staring into hazel eyes covered by glasses. Blinking groggily, she thought to herself, _This can't be happening, it's not real. I'm sleeping!_  
  
"I'm up, I'm up . . ." Lily sat up, stretching and rubbing her eyes to relieve them of sleepiness. Blinking slightly, she confirmed that it was James who she had fallen asleep on.  
  
"Well, err, we're at the castle, so any time you want to get out, feel free to do so . . ." Then, with a slightly awkward silence following that sentence, James scratched the back of his head and made his way to find Sirius again.  
  
Yawning again and not caring about what she'd done, Lily stretched once more and dragged her lazy butt out of the carriage, planting her feet firmly on the solid, grassy ground.  
  
She had arrived at Hogwarts. Lily was going to get James, even if it killed her.  
  
**And she wouldn't fail.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
  
"Two words. 'Dig in.'"  
  
Many voices throughout the Great Hall sounded 'Here, here!' Others just began to murmur and clank their silverware around on the tables. The first day back was surely going to be a good one.  
  
"'Is 'eh 'um guh' 'ood!" Sirius tried to speak, though spraying bits and pieces of whatever was in his mouth all over the table. Hestia laughed. Lily shook her head.  
  
"'ad'ut, 'oo 'olt!" James said, swallowed, and shoved another spoon full of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "'oo ar'n't 'upposuhd 'oo 'awk wiff 'ur mouf 'ull!"  
  
Lily choked on a piece of chicken laughing. Hestia patted her on the back was suppressing giggles. Obviously, James meant to tell Sirius that he wasn't supposed to talk with his mouth full. He's being hypocritical, Lily thought, shaking her head and gulping down some pumpkin juice.  
  
"Well, surely this year's to be better than the rest!" Hestia snorted. The four of them, unusual as it was, were having quite the time with themselves.  
  
Lily dished out herself some pudding, but as it slid onto the plate it splattered all over the table as Peeves the Poltergeist knocked her spoon forward. Pudding went all over her face and clothes. With an angry expression, Lily cursed Peeves to the underworld so many times that everyone around just stared at her. As if it weren't the first time that day.  
  
"What, do I have a sign that says 'Stare at me' tacked to my forehead?" She grumbled angrily.  
  
Everyone just shook their heads quickly and went back to jabbering or shoveling food into their mouths. Lily huffed, pulling out her napkin to wipe off the mess. James sighed and waved his wand that he'd drawn from his pocket. Instantly, the goop that was pudding disappeared. Lily looked at him with a half smile.  
  
"Thanks, James."  
  
Sirius began going 'Ooooo!' at that point. Hestia nudged Lily, and James looked like his face might explode, with the redness they were getting. Lily, however questioning her expression was at that point, was laughing hard on the inside. It cracked her up, and boosted her ego at the same time, to see how she could embarrass the head prankster of Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. At that time, the Headmaster stood, tapping his fork on his goblet to get the school's attention.  
  
"And now, to introduce our Head Boy and Head Girl for this fine year at Hogwarts." He received applause for just that until he held up a hand. The students silenced. "Our Head Girl for this year, Lillian Evans."  
  
Lily stood up and smiled brightly as the school clapped and cheered for her. She hadn't told her friends, but it was to be a surprise. Although they probably already knew she was destined for the position, she wished not to tell them. Peering around, Lily remained standing, as they were supposed to, and waited for the announcement of Head Boy.  
  
"And Head Boy, James Potter."  
  
The crowd silenced. Lily turned sharply, not facing the aisle any longer, and stared at the boy who had been sitting across from her as he stood. Sirius and Hestia gaped up at him. Lily just stood there, the word 'shock' written all over her face. She could see Remus as Head Boy. Maybe even Lucius Malfoy of Slytherin. But never James.  
  
After the prolonged pause, the school erupted in another fit of applause, this time even louder than the one lily got. It must've been some surprise for them for that. Even as everyone went back to eating, Lily stared at James, her face showing another expression of confusion. How could that be?  
  
"So, Prongs, how did you get to be Head Boy?" Sirius gaped at his friend still, trying to figure out his secret. "Did you do something to Moony? By the way, where is Moony?"  
  
"Ah, he's down there talking to Emmaline," Hestia grinned, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the end of the table. Indeed, he was. Except 'talking' couldn't describe it. They were flirting, and everyone around them could tell.  
  
"Wonder why he didn't get it? Head Boy, I mean," Sirius nodded down that way as the rest went back to eating.  
  
"Probably because of his Gran, Padfoot," James gave Sirius a real serious look, no pun intended. Hestia raised and eyebrow while Lily mashed her potatoes more than they already were.  
  
"Anyways, you know what this means," Hestia spoke, looking from Lily to James. "You two have to spend more time together doing things. Like decorating for Christmas and stuff."  
  
Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. She was already going with Hestia's plan, so why should she be tortured this way. James was just nodding and staring absently past Lily. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she could see some Hufflepuff girl waving at James with a flirtatious look about her. Lily turned back towards them, her eye twitching.  
  
"Something in your eye, Evans?" Sirius grinned. For that he received a menacing glare. "Sheesh, just asking . . ."  
  
The rest of the feast went well, or without a joke about being Head whatever. Many younger Gryffindors came to congratulate Lily and James, but mainly James. They asked how he did it, but he just shook his head and shrugged. While that was going on, though, Lily whispered to Hestia.  
  
"Hey, who's that girl over at the Hufflepuff table? The one with the brown pigtails?" Lily muttered for only Hestia to hear.  
  
"That? Oh, that's Cessily Hues. She's possibly the flirtiest, prettiest, and the thickest girl at Hogwarts. She'll flirt with anyone, mind you. Even Snivelly over there." Hestia nodded towards the Slytherin table where a greasy headed boy sat. His hooked nose distorted his features, making him positively revolting. Lily shuddered.  
  
"Then why is she after James?" Lily hissed under her breath.  
  
Hestia turned slightly, looking at Cessily. Indeed, she was flirting with James. She would flip her pigtails every now and then and cast a glance in his direction with the most seductive smile anyone could ever imagine. James just stared right past Lily to the girl, it seemed.  
  
"Ooh, Lily, don't mess with her. She's even more a bully than I am, and that's saying something," Hestia nodded, seeing the look of pure hatred written across Lily's face. Hestia could hurt someone really bad when she wanted to, and saying Cessily was worse was something any girl, or guy even, would fear. Lily clenched her teeth, the muscles tightening in her jaw. She wouldn't let that girl get James. Not on her watch. Or hourglass. Whichever they used in the Wizarding World.  
  
Meanwhile, James was muttering his own problems to Sirius.  
  
"God, what is up with Cessily?" James hissed in disgust. The looks that girl was giving him were sickening even to the thought.  
  
"She's got something for you, Mate," Sirius said seriously.  
  
"Yeah, well, you can tell her that I've got something. A few little dung bombs I could give to Amelia Bones to put in her bed if she doesn't stop looking at me like that!" James muttered furiously. He let a glare slip in the direction of Cessily and she immediately took that as a good sign. She even dared blow a kiss back at him! James, disgusted to the last point of his nerves, stood up.  
  
"I'm going back to the Common Room. Everyone's going to leave in a few moments, anyways."  
  
True enough, the Headmaster stood and dismissed the school to their house dormitories. The four of them, James, Sirius, Hestia and Lily, stayed together in the hallways. They hoped to get back to their houses without fuss from Slytherin students. Well, they got half of what they wanted.  
  
"Jamesie! How are you?" A high-pitched girlish voice sounded from somewhere behind them. They all turned about swiftly.  
  
Cessily Hues stood there, her eyes shining like she were talking to a movie star. The curls in her pigtails bounced half-elegantly on her shoulders. Her bright, almost baby blue eyes scanned over the crowd, landing on James. Lily would say she was sort of pretty, if it were not for the fact of her liking James.  
  
"Hello, Cessily," James sounded dully.  
  
The girl latched onto his right arm and hugged it tightly. James felt like his arm was going to fall off.  
  
"Oh, do you still not have a girlfriend? If you don't, I'll volunteer!" Cessily said, batting her eyelashes up at the tall Quidditch player. James looked down, and only Sirius could tell that he wanted to puke.  
  
"Oh, sorry dearie," Lily said, surprising them all. Cessily raised one of her over-plucked eyebrows. "He already has one."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Cessily said shrilly. Standing straight, she put her hands on her hips. "And who, might I ask, would that be?"  
  
"Me," Lily said coolly, taking hold of James's free hand. Her emerald eyes showed a hint of icy hatred in them.  
  
"Humph. You. Wish." Cessily flipped her pigtails and stalked of to go with her group of jabbering friends. After they were out of sight, Lily let go of James's hand and stuffed her hands in her own pockets.  
  
"The heck?" Sirius glanced at James, who seemed to ask the same question, only with his eyes.  
  
Hestia shrugged mischievously to the boys. With a grin, she went to Lily and the two girls walked off up the moving staircases to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"What's gotten into her?" James said, rubbing the hand that Lily had held. Surely, he would never wash that hand again.  
  
"Dunno, Mate," Sirius shrugged, but added with a grin.  
  
**"You'd think she was dropping hints or something."**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
  
"C'mon Lily! Must wake up! Can't sleep all day! Wake up, wake up, _wake up_!"  
  
A weight bounced on the end of her four-poster bed in the early morning. Groggily, Lily sat up straight in bed, stretching and letting out a yawn. What time was it? Looking at the hourglass on her side table, it marked eight O'clock. Yikes! Good thing they didn't have glasses the first two days. Otherwise, she would've missed Charms already.  
  
"I'm up. Stop bouncing!" Lily laughed, chucking a pillow at Hestia. Pretending it weighed a ton, Hestia fell off the bed with the pillow over her face. Lily snickered, which eventually turned into a fit of giggles.  
  
"Boy, what're we going to do today, hmm? Breakfast! That's what! C'mon Lily, get dressed!" Hestia stood up and patted her thin stomach. Lily could hear it growl from where she was sitting in her bed. She also noticed that Hestia was already dressed in her Hogwarts skirt, white button down shirt, and robes with the Gryffindor emblem on them. Lily stood, opening her trunk that she hadn't unpacked yet, and threw on the same thing, though hers just a bit more loose fitting than Hestia's.  
  
The Entrance Hall was more crowded in the morning than it was the night before. Students couldn't decide where they wanted to go on their first day: out onto the grounds or exploring Hogwarts' corridors. Shaking their heads, Lily and Hestia made their way through the crowd and into the Great Hall. It was almost full, yet almost no one sat at the Gryffindor table. James and Sirius weren't there, either.  
  
"Where do you reckon they are?" Lily tilted her head to speak to Hestia.  
  
The girl shrugged. "Dunno. Might be out on the grounds. Who cares? Let's eat!"  
  
With a slightly laugh on both sides, the girls made their way to the Gryffindor table, sitting where they had the night before.  
  
"So," Hestia muttered after gulping down half of her pumpkin juice, "What should we do –"  
  
"Lillian Evans."  
  
Hestia was cut off mid-sentence by a high voice. Both girls turned their heads to see whom it was that interrupted. Of course, the voice could only belong to one girl.  
  
"Cessily Hues," Lily blinked, keeping her face expressionless. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want you to stay away from my Jamie-kins!" Cessily had her highly manicured fingernails clenched at her hips in fists. Lily looked at her mildly. "And what if I don't?"  
  
"Well," the brunette spoke dangerously, "I'll just have to take care of that, now won't I?"  
  
Lily let out a cold laugh, which was highly unlike her. "Sure, and what is a thick headed girl like you to do, huh, Hues?" Lily stood up, leaning over the table with a fierce glare now pinching her features. Hestia went to stand, but Lily shoved her back into her seat.  
  
"I'm warning you, Evans, if you touch my James, I'll skin you," Cessily hissed though her teeth.  
  
"I'm shaking in my robes," was Lily's equally deadly reply.  
  
After two more minutes of glaring daggers at each other, Cessily stalked away, flipping her pigtails like no one's business. Lily positively hated the girl.  
  
"Whoa . . ." Hestia gaped from the sidelines. "Cat fight. Reow."  
  
Lily gave her a slightly angered half smile, trying to calm her temper down. Like she would stay away from James. Cessily presented a problem in Lily's plans to snag James for her own. James seemed to like her, in Lily's eyes. If she wouldn't get out of the way, Lily would make her.  
  
"Yoo-hoo, earth to Lily." A hand was being waved in front of her face. Snapping out of her trancelike state, Lily shook her head. "Sorry, Hestia. Got a little angry there for a minutes."  
  
"Yeah, a little. Psh," Hestia finished shoveling her food into her mouth. Lily had hardly touched her food, but insisted that they go find the boys that instant.  
  
Sure enough, the guys were on the ground underneath a tree that hung over the lake. Tentacles were surfacing in the water every now and then, showing that the Giant Squid had woken up, too. Hestia and Lily hurried towards the two.  
  
"Hey there, Black," Hestia grinned, plopping down beside Sirius.  
  
"Hey, Jones, what's cookin'?" Sirius smirked, putting his arm around Hestia's shoulder playfully. The two looked to be getting along well.  
  
"Hey, Evans."  
  
"Hey, James. I had a run-in with your girlfriend this morning," Lily spoke only halfheartedly, although she was the only one who knew it. James looked at her questioningly. "Hues, Potter. Hues."  
  
James groaned and rolled his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend, Lily." Lily shrugged. "Whatever you say." Yawning, she leaned up against the tree next to James. The only one who seemed surprised by this action, though, was James. Sirius seemed to wink at him.  
  
"So . . .Evans, what bring you out here this fine morning?" James spoke, trying to regain his prankster position in front of her. Lily smiled. "Oh, nothing. Just looking for the Head Boy to tell him the Headmaster wants us to come up with plans for the Halloween decorations before the deadline."  
  
James snorted, but then silenced when Lily slid closer to him. He wasn't looking at her, but he knew she'd gotten closer by the fact that her shoulder was now touching his. "So, err . . .When is this deadline?"  
  
"Two weeks from today."  
  
James nodded. Lily seemed to think he didn't get the hint. Sighing, she moved away, rubbing her other shoulder. Off in the distance, she saw someone approaching. Someone with a yellow and black tie, someone with . . .Pigtails?  
  
"EVANS!"  
  
"Oh crap."  
  
James heard the call, as did Sirius and Hestia, who became disengaged in their little conversation. Cessily at nine O'clock, approaching fast.  
  
"I told you to stay away from him!" A manicured nail fastened its aim towards James. "But do you listen? NO!"  
  
James began to speak, but Lily covered his mouth. Did he think she couldn't handle this herself? Probably so.  
  
"Listen, Hues. You can't keep me away from my friends. And ESPECIALLY James! So keep your fat mouth shut and LEAVE!" Hestia stood behind Sirius, peering over his shoulder at the two girls.  
  
With a glare, Cessily hissed in Lily's ear. "I'll get you. Some other time when my guy isn't around. Promise you that." With that, she stalked off for the second time that day.  
  
"What the heck is up with that girl?" James said, frustrated and confused. "I mean, she stalks me everywhere and now she's bothering you, Lily."  
  
"Dunno. Maybe she's jealous."  
  
"Of what, exactly?" James questioned.  
  
"Me."  
  
After that, a silence followed.  
  
"So! You girls gonna come to the Quidditch match? First game of the season before Halloween. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff!" Sirius chimed, snickering slightly to lighten the mood.  
  
Hestia nodded, smiling brightly. As the anger cloud that had settled lifted, Lily smiled and nodded.  
  
"Man, I hope we win." James nodded, grinning.  
  
Lily, who hadn't said anything yet, remembered that Cessily was Seeker for the Hufflepuff team. A wicked grin crept onto her face. What she said was totally unexpected.  
  
**"Beat their asses."**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
  
"Diggory passed the Quaffle to Sampson, but! It's interfered by Black! Go Black, go! And Gryffindor scores! Twenty to ten, Hufflepuff, and Diggory has the Quaffle again . . ."  
  
The Quidditch game was going well. Hufflepuff was up by ten points, but that was nothing the Snitch couldn't fix. Lily and Hestia stood in the crowd, cheering on the Gryffindor team. A few times, Lily spotted the Snitch, as she had that small amount of practice over the summer. Neither Seeker saw it, though.  
  
"C'mon! It's right there, you_ dolts_!" Lily found herself saying that a few times. Hestia just started laughing at her friend.  
  
"Boy, Lily, you sure you don't want to take James's position?" Hestia snorted and cheered as Gryffindor tied with Hufflepuff. Sirius had just made an amazing goal.  
  
"And it's twenty to twenty, Gryffindor has the Quaffle and . . .What's this? Potter has seen the Snitch! Get it, James!" Jacob Jordan, the announcer and fellow Seventh year Gryffindor, yelled with his hoarse voice.  
  
"GO JAMES!" Lily yelled at the top of her voice.  
  
"Get that Snitch! Get that Snitch!" Hestia chanted from Lily's side. The both of them crossed their fingers.  
  
Suddenly, Cessily Hues swooped down after the Snitch. James feinted to the left and Cessily followed. Lily smacked her head, hoping he knew what he was doing. It didn't look like it.  
  
James dove again, nearly hitting the ground and bringing Cessily with him. James, who knew exactly what to do, pulled up five inches before the ground came up to meet him. Cessily, on the other hand, had no control over her broom. Yelling, she crashed into the ground, bouncing off her broom and falling face forward. Unfortunately for Lily, she wasn't hurt.  
  
As everyone stood to see what happened to the girl, Lily's eyes fell back onto James. She was the first one to scream the three-letter word 'yes' as loud as possible. When everyone heard her, they looked back to James and saw a yellow glint of gold fluttering in his hand. The Gryffindor stand erupted into cheers and shouts of 'Yes' and 'Hoorah.'  
  
"Great game, James!" Lily cheered, jumping up and down as the Quidditch players exited the room they went to after the game. Sirius followed, leaving Hestia to gawk after him.  
  
"Yeah, well, I couldn't help seeing your eyes following something I didn't see," James grinned.  
  
"Yeah, but you couldn't do it without me, Mate!" Sirius laughed behind them. Hestia was hanging onto his arm with the smuggest expression on her face.  
  
"Jamesie-poo, great game!"  
  
"For the love of Peter Pettigrew!" James yelled.  
  
Cessily came up to them. Her lip was cut open slightly, but it had healed over slightly. With a wicked evil grin in Lily's direction, Cessily pulled James down and kissed his cheek.  
  
Lily's face was so red right then and there, you couldn't tell where her skin stopped and her hair started. James made the most disgusted face in the world. Shoving Cessily off him, he wiped his cheek.  
  
"Disgusting. Hues, leave me alone!" James hissed at her.  
  
Cessily just put on a fake pout. "Awww, just want to show off around her, huh?" Cessily pointed to Lily. "Oh well, because I know you love me." Her eyes glinted mischievously. Trailing her nails up James's arm, Cessily smirked.  
  
"Stop it!" James yelled with rage.  
  
"_Petrificus Totalus_!"  
  
A jet of light shot out from behind James and hit Cessily squarely in the chest. The girl, still having her arm stuck out, bore a shocked expression as she turned to stone and fell to the ground, frozen by the spell. Everyone stared at Lily, who was calmly pocketing her wand.  
  
"What?" She spoke in an innocent tone.  
  
There was silence, then Hestia and Sirius broke out laughing. James shook his head. "Lily, why didn't we ever let you into the Marauders? You'd have made a good Lioness."  
  
Lily grinned. "Would I have really?"  
  
James nodded. The four made their way into the Great Hall. Lunch was always an important thing after a well-played game of Quidditch.  
  
"So, Lily, when are we going to put into effect the plans that we've been working on for Halloween?" James questioned. For the past week until the Quidditch game, Lily and him had been staying up after hours in the Common Room to plan the decorations for the Halloween feast.  
  
"The Headmaster will do it," Lily nodded. The group ate in peace, no bother from Cessily, who was probably still paralyzed on the grounds in front of the Quidditch pitch. Lily thought. If Hufflepuff won a game against Slytherin, they would play Gryffindor again. Sighing, she shrugged. They'd beat them again.  
  
Hours later, it was time to turn in.  
  
"So," Hestia said as they headed towards the Common Room, "I hope you guys have done a good job on the decorations. Don't want them to be ruined, now do we?" She smiled at the couple. Couple. That's what Lily and James were, Hestia thought to herself. They sure looked like one.  
  
"Yeah, don't want to see a pumpkin hanging upside down somewhere," Sirius grinned, putting his arm around Hestia's shoulder. Lily winked to her friend. Sirius and Hestia were getting along just as a couple should. And they were. It was only oblivious to Lily that Hestia was thinking the exact same thing, except for her and James.  
  
"Nah, it's good," Lily and James said in unison. Sirius and Hestia looked at each other.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna turn in for the night," Sirius stretched. Hestia nodded. "I might as well, too." The two broke off, going to their separate dormitories: Hestia to the Girls', Sirius to the Boys'.  
  
"Well, g'night then," James nodded to Lily.  
  
"Night . . .Oh, wait!" Lily paused, the wrapped her arms around James's neck, embracing him in a hug. Unsure of what to do, James hugged her back.  
  
"Night, James."  
  
**"Night, Lily." **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**  
  
"Alright there, Evans?"  
  
"Oh, shut up, James."  
  
The Gryffindor Common Room, usually in its maroons and golds, now bore Halloween colors: a dark orange and black. Small pumpkins floated in the air here and there, bumping into others occasionally. Lily stood on an armchair, trying to put up a banner by hand. 'Happy Halloween,' it said. James stood and watched in amusement as she struggled to keep her balance on the back of the chair.  
  
"D'you need some – _Watch out_!"  
  
Lily's heel caught the end of the chair as she stood up on her toes. Unfortunately, the chair became top heavy and tipped backwards, spilling Lily off of it. James stepped quickly over there and caught her. But again, top heaviness took over and James and Lily fell to the floor, Lily on top.  
  
"What an embarrassing position, don't you think, Hestia?"  
  
"I do believe you're right, Sirius."  
  
The two looked up to see Sirius and Hestia standing above them, shaking their heads. Lily scrambled to her feet, blushing a deep crimson to the roots of her hair. James stood up, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Lily fell. I caught her . . ." James began to explain, but was cut off by Hestia.  
  
"Oh, wow! You two did this?" Hestia motioned to the decorations. Lily and James nodded. "If this is the least of it, I can't wait to see the Great Hall!"  
  
"Ah, no, Hestia. You'll only see it at dinner. It's not going to be up during lunch," Lily nodded, looking to James, who nodded soon afterwards.  
  
"Boo!" Sirius and Hestia hissed together. Then, laughing, the two of them went off.  
  
"Guess we should get going?" James said.  
  
Nodding, Lily replied. "Yeah, I guess so. And James?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Thanks for catching me.  
  
A few hours later, James and Lily were on their way to the Great Hall. Lunch had passed, and dinner was coming up. They wanted to check to see if the teachers were doing the decorations exactly right. They didn't want anything messed up, of course.  
  
"Well, well, well. Mrs. Potter." A cold hiss came from behind them. Lily turned sharply to stare into coal black eyes.  
  
"Snivellus," James growled, reaching for his pocket.  
  
The hook-nosed boy of Slytherin with the greasy hair stood in front of them. A smirk was drawn across his icy lips.  
  
"So, Potter, decided to wed this Mudblood yet?"  
  
"Take it back! NOW!" James nearly threw himself at Snape, if it weren't for Lily holding him back. He would've succeeded in ripping his face off if Lily weren't so damn strong.  
  
"How about . . .No?"  
  
"Go wash your grease, Snivelly," James spat, pulling out his wand. A bucket of water dumped over Snape's hair, drenching it. Lily glared.  
  
"James Potter!"  
  
"He deserves it, Lily!" James pointed a finger, but when he turned around, Snape had left. James, infuriated, huffed and glared around.  
  
"Whether he deserved it or not, you're still an arrogant git!" Lily fumed, not caring any more about her little plans. She'd told him not to do anything by holding him back. She could've sworn he'd agreed with her. Obviously he didn't.  
  
Lily stalked off into the Great Hall to see the decorations. They were going as planned. Sighing, she went back out, figuring she should apologize to James for that little outburst. He wasn't a git. Never in a million years could she think that way about him. But as she exited the hall, she saw no James. With a questioning look, Lily went to the Common Room. Hestia and Sirius were sitting there, enjoying the silence.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt what ever, but have either of you seen James?" Lily questioned, a pleading look in her eyes.  
  
"Sorry, Lily. Haven't seen him since you two left." Hestia shook her head. Sirius did the same. "Same for me."  
  
Stomping her foot and letting out a frustrated sigh, Lily stalked out of the Common Room. Where could he be?  
  
"Looking for someone, Lily?" A soft voice asked.  
  
"Oh, hello, Emmaline. Remus." Lily nodded to the both. "Yes, in fact, I am. Have you two seen James?" Remus shook his head, but Emmaline nodded.  
  
"Yeah, he was on the third floor. He was muttering to himself about something," She nodded.  
  
"Thank you so very much, Emma," Lily thanked her graciously, and then bound down the staircase.  
  
Once or twice on her way down from the seventh floor, Lily encountered a moving stairway. They were always changing their minds. It took almost forever, but Lily finally reached the third floor. Desperate now, Lily searched every corner, room, and hallway. It was only on the last one that she found something. And she felt sick.  
  
"Oh, _Jamesie_!"  
  
"C'mon, Cessily. We'll go somewhere quiet."  
  
Lily's eyes filled with tears of sorrow. Tears of sadness. And tears of anger. She would never speak to James again.  
  
**Never.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**  
  
"Hello, Lily, how're y –"  
  
James had stopped her from leaving the Common Room. Lily's eyes shot up, bloodshot and watery. But they were full of such hatred, James backed into the wall. With a desperate attempt to ask what was wrong, James was knocked to the ground in one shove.  
  
"Get out of my way, _Jamesie_."  
  
It suddenly dawned on James. Had she heard him and Cessily? But it wasn't what she thought it was . . .  
  
"But, Lily . . ."  
  
"Leave me alone!"  
  
Darting out of the portrait hold, Lily dashed down the staircases, getting herself lost in the corridors so no one would find her. Meanwhile, in the Common Room, Sirius had tumbled down from the Boys' dorm, just as James yelled, "Damn it!"  
  
"So . . .Is this a bad time to ask if the decorations are ready for our eyes?"  
  
James, frustrated beyond belief, sat down in an armchair and pulled his hair. "Sirius, this isn't fair! It just isn't!" So, wanting to know what was wrong with his friend, Sirius sat in front of James as he blurted out the whole story.  
  
"So that's what happened?" Sirius leaned back, shaking his head. "Oye, you better tell her that you were just trying to get Cessily off you, Mate. If Lily has another run-in with her, the idiot Hufflepuff will blurt everything out all wrong."  
  
With a shocked expression of realization, James bolted up and out of the Common Room.  
  
"Slow down, Lad, before you break your neck!" The Fat Lady spoke as she swung shut.  
  
"No, he can't slow down. If he doesn't his girl won't talk to him. Ever."  
  
Now, it wasn't hard to find Lily for James. One, he'd known her so well, even if she didn't think so. Two, James saw teardrops down staircases, up some, and even on the walls. There, in a corridor somewhere on the second floor, was Lily, curled up against the wall, crying rivers.  
  
"Lily? Lily, I can explain . . ."  
  
"Get away from me."  
  
"Dear, dear. What's the matter, Evans?"  
  
The high-pitched voice was now known as Cessily came out of a classroom nearby. A smirk played across her lips.  
  
"Hues, get away right now before I curse you many times into oblivion," James said dangerously. Cessily giggled, thinking he was only joking.  
  
"Awww, but doesn't Ms. Evans want to know the truth? The fact that we actually _snogged_ the other day?" Cessily's smirk was now menacing, daring James to do anything.  
  
"I warned you! _Obliviate_!" A beam of light flashed from James's wand in his outstretched hand. Cessily, caught unaware, was thrown back into the classroom she came out of. When she came out, though, she probably wouldn't have a clue where she was, or even who she was for that matter.  
  
"Lily, please," James stepped forward, pocketing his wand. Lily had looked up by then. Her hair was a mess, possibly from running. Her normally green eyes were now surrounded by red puffiness. But her cheeks. Her cheeks were tear stricken.  
  
"What do you want? To torture me more?"  
  
"No, I want to explain," James said soothingly, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Cessily and I weren't doing what I think you're thinking about. No, we didn't snog. She's being a prat. She's going out with Snape, for Pete's sake!" Lily let out a small laugh at this.  
  
"Listen, I was trying to lock her somewhere she wouldn't bug me. I hate her. She's a disgusting leech that won't stop sucking blood. Get what I mean?" Lily nodded. "So I just wanted to say sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything." James stood with a sigh.  
  
"Wait!" Lily bolted up, grabbing James's wrist. "James . . .I'm sorry for thinking what I did. I knew you hated her from the off. Forgive?" Lily held out her hand after releasing his wrist. "Forgive," James grinned and shook on it. "Now, isn't it time we show them the Great Hall?"  
  
About thirty minutes later, students were lined up in the Entrance Hall as they were on the first day back. Lily and James stood in front of the doors, waiting for the time to hit seven O'clock before opening the doors. A bell somewhere chimed, signaling the tick of the hour. With grins and smiles, Lily and James pushed open the doors. Everyone gaped in awe.  
  
Pumpkins larger than two people hung suspended in mid-air, apparently with a hovering charm put on them. Candles floated near the ceiling, though in the pattern of a bat, if you looked at them from beneath. The ceiling was bewitched to look as if a witch would pass over it, the full moon hanging high. The howl of a wolf was heard throughout the Hall, as the two students wished for that, as well. But those few things weren't the best. Oh no. There was still something better and much spookier than all of that.  
  
Among the walking rows stood mummies and skeletons, werewolves and zombies. Of course, they weren't real. They were only made of wax. But their enchanted movements looked so real, that when a zombie swayed dangerously near the door, many students stepped back in fright.  
  
"Well," James said, his voice echoing in the silence. "What do you think?"  
  
People gawked at the two as they stared smugly around. Then, as if someone turned off the mute button, a roar of applause sounded, cutting through the silence.  
  
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" One little girl was saying.  
  
"Blimey! They look so _real_!" Another boy was saying.  
  
As the students entered the hall with noise, they either avoided or examined the walking wax figures. Lily prided herself in knowing how to make inanimate objects come to life. James did, too, though himself with the engorgement charms that he put on the pumpkins.  
  
"Aye, Mate! This is excellent!" Sirius's voice sounded through the noise.  
  
"By gods, Lily! How did you do it?" Hestia gawked, muttering stuff under her breath about how unnatural it all was, but cool none the less.  
  
"I had help," James and Lily echoed in unison. They smiled at each other.  
  
"Woo hoo, looks like a certain two people made up quickly," Sirius winked, and then snickered.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we can't stay mad at each other for very long . . ." Lily muttered beneath her breath. James grinned, hearing it.  
  
"Well," Hestia said, finally breathing. She'd been holding her breath until the doors opened. "Shouldn't we sit down? Feast? Chow down? Or as Sirius would put it," Sirius grinned at this. "Should we 'stuff our faces full of Hogwartsie goodness?'" James laughed.  
  
Lily nodded with a grin. "Yeah. This feast will be good. We asked the house elves to put in some spider pudding. Don't worry, it's just called that because of the sprinkles." Lily snickered at the look on Hestia's face. Hestia hated spiders.  
  
"C'mon, let's eat," James said, leading the group to the Gryffindor table.  
  
As they sat down at the table, Lily sat next to James, Hestia next to Sirius already. With a smile, she looked up at him. "You know what I think, James?"  
  
"Hmm?" James looked up, halfway through chewing into a piece of meat.  
  
**"That this year will be the best."**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
  
The beginning months of school passed before Lily knew it. October turned to November, and November turned swiftly into December. Snow fell to the ground on the last day the students had to pack if they weren't staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas break. Lily wasn't one of them, for a change.  
  
She and Hestia bad both decided to stay, while Sirius and James went back to James's house for the winter holidays. The quartet sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, sulking about. Sirius didn't want to go back, but he wanted to stay with James because his parents were nice. Hestia didn't want to stay, but she was forced to because of her mother being at St. Mungo's.  
  
Lily and James were almost the same. Lily didn't want to go back to her house. Petunia would just nag her to death. James didn't want to go home because he wanted to stay with Lily during Christmastime. Obviously, his parents wished him back to their house, so there was no helping that fact.  
  
"Oye, I don' wanna leave the castle. Too beautiful at this time," Sirius motioned to the windows, clouded with piles of snow. A thump sounded and he saw a snowball collide with the glass.  
  
"You're right," James muttered, sulking in his armchair.  
  
"Well, I, for one, don't want to stay in a castle when it's freezing in every single corridor!" Lily shivered, even as she sat on the rug nearest to the fire. Indeed, it was cold, even with the fire going as high as it would in this weather.  
  
"You're lucky you both have a home to go to right now," Hestia mumbled, leaning against a wall near the window that Sirius had gazed out of a while ago. She was wrapped up in a fuzzy maroon sweater that made her seem as if she was the only one in the Common Room fit for the weather inside and outside of the castle.  
  
Sirius glanced at her and shook his head with a sigh. "Hey, you have family that thinks you're a wonder, though. Mine has decided to blow my name of the tapestry that hangs in my house." Sirius rarely talked about his family, as they were Purebloods on their Pureblooded Mania craze. Anyone who associated with Muggles or Muggle-born witches or wizards was considered a traitor, naming Sirius one for many occasions.  
  
"Oh well. Let's not talk about how stupid our families are," Lily muttered through chattering teeth. Grumbling about something, she pulled her heavy cloak over her shoulders. "Why don't we all go bundle up and go outside? Have a little snow war?"  
  
"I call Sirius's side!" Hestia jumped out of her phase immediately and clung onto Sirius's left arm. He just grinned at her and shook his head.  
  
"Well, I guess that leaves you and me, Potter," Lily snorted, pulling herself up from the rug. James rolled his eyes, something Lily would've done if she were in his position. Lately, they'd been getting along quite well. No yelling at the other for mysteriously dumping water on a certain greasy-headed slime ball, no nothing.  
  
"Aye. Well, let's all go get on some warm clothes and meet each other out on the grounds in five minutes. What say you, Evans?" James tilted his head slightly, raising one eyebrow both questionably and mischievously.  
  
"What say me? Lily says, 'Let's do it.'" The redheaded girl nodded. With that, the two girls took off up the Girls' Dormitory staircase to get dressed in something that would keep them from freezing off their fingers. The boys did the same, only they went to the Boys' Dormitory, of course.  
  
Around five minutes later, Lily and Hestia were bundled up tightly, scarves wrapped around their necks. They didn't look as puffed-up as some of the younger kids did, with their twelve or more pairs of clothing on. It wasn't that cold, after all, only cold enough to drop quite a few inches of snow.  
  
"Where are they?" Hestia blinked, scanning the area with her dark eyes. Lily shrugged, and then was answered when a snowball collided with the side of her face. With a gasp, she wiped the snow off of her now freezing face and turned swiftly to see where it came from.  
  
A few yards behind Lily, Sirius stood, laughing his head off. James was pointing to him with the most innocent look he could probably muster at the time, a smirk plastered on his face and everything. Hestia snorted.  
  
"Potter! You're supposed to be on my side!" Lily shook her fist, bent down, and scooped up a handful of snow, and chucked it at James. Hard. James fell back into the snow, nearly creating a crater as the ball of frost hit its target: squarely in the middle of his forehead.  
  
"Boy, Evans! You'd make a great Chaser!" Sirius laughed, pulling James to his feet. Lily shook her head as Hestia and her made their way over to the boys.  
  
"I don't want to be Chaser," She said, eyeing James. He was covered in snow from the force of her toss. She really had no clue she could throw that hard. Shrugging it off, she stretched. "So, when are we going to start this little 'Snow War' we're having?"  
  
"Well," Sirius explained, pulling Hestia over to his side and shoving James towards Lily, "First, we've got to build ourselves a little fort. Y'know, to hide behind an' all. So let's do that."  
  
Nodding, Lily and James went some distance away, as did Sirius and Hestia. Looking over her shoulder, though, Lily saw they were already making a bit of progress on their 'fort.' Stopping, she bent down to the ground, as did James. "Let's get to work," she mumbled, and they started.  
  
After a few minutes of packing and patting snow into place, Lily and James had a reasonably sized wall between them and the other couple. Peering over the top, though, Lily gaped and tugged on James's arm. "What?" He turned towards her. Her finger was pointing at something . . .  
  
Sirius and Hestia had gone to work. What their little 'fort' now resembled was a castle with snow-brick walls. Both had their little sections. And they had even taken time to pack little mounds of snowballs on each side! What Lily wanted to know what who the heck taught them to do that.  
  
"Ready!" A voice called, and Lily knew it was Hestia. Sucking in air, she called over the top, "Ready, too!" "All right then," Sirius's voice was muffled, but heard. "Let the snow fly at will!"  
  
In the first few minutes of the war, Lily and James got pummeled with snowballs. The walls of their fort had chunks of broken snowballs hanging off the ends. While Sirius and Hestia were wasting their snowballs, though, Lily and James had made four piles of their own.  
  
"Y'know, Evans, I think you could throw hard enough to break down one of their walls," James grinned, patting a snowball into her hand. Raising and eyebrow, Lily gave him a grin that would make the Marauder's proud. Leaning over the wall just slightly, she let the snowball fly.  
  
"DAMN IT!" A voice on the other side yelled. Lily ducked back down, and then peered around the corner. What she saw made her crack up in fits of giggles.  
  
An entire wall of Sirius and Hestia's fort had collapsed from the impact of her blow. Now it looked like a catapult had blown the castle down. With a grin, James chucked a few icy spheres at them. By the time all four stacks were gone, the opposing castle was turned to rubble.  
  
"We should call you Lily 'Catapult' Evans, Evans!" James snorted, whooping as they saw Sirius tie a little white piece of cloth to the end of a stick and wave it in surrender. Lily just giggled like a mad woman. Both teams stood.  
  
"Dang, Lily, where'd you learn to throw like that? I wanna know!" Hestia gaped at her friend, patting her on the back and staring at her in awe. Lily just couldn't stop giggling.  
  
"Calm down, Evans," James snorted, patting Lily on the back as Hestia had done. After that, the girl seemed to calm down a bit.  
  
"That was fun. Maybe we could do it again sometime if there still is some snow after Christmastime, although I doubt it," Lily nodded, her cheeks red from the frosty weather. James snorted. Sirius nodded, as did Hestia.  
  
"Well, we best get going in," James signaled to Sirius to follow them into the castle. It was so much warmer inside, even if it was only a few degrees above what it was outside. It was nice to be somewhere warm after being nearly frozen to death.  
  
"We'll be going to the Common Room real quick. Hestia says she forgot something," Sirius nodded to the two and headed off up several flights of staircases to the tower that belonged to Gryffindor house, Hestia tailing along after him.  
  
"You should really hang out with us some time," James spoke to Lily, shoving his hands in his robe pockets. Lily shrugged, pulling off her gloves, rubbing her numb fingers. "I guess I should. You don't seem half as bad when you're not being rude to people," Lily nodded, putting the gloves in her pockets.  
  
"Yeah, well, when Snivellus isn't around I can be pretty nice," James sighed, sounding a bit putout as Lily spoke about him as if he were a jerk. He probably was. He wasn't paying much attention to where they were headed.  
  
"Hey, James, look up," Lily said, staring at the archway they were passing under. James looked skyward.  
  
There, above their heads, hung little red berries surrounded with green leaves. It was a poisonous plant, harmful to humans if they ate it. But at Christmastime, it was a good sign. It was Mistletoe.  
  
"Y'know, there are supposed to be Gnarls or something in that," James said thoughtfully. Lily rolled her eyes. "Didn't know you read." Then, standing on the tips of her toes, Lily placed her lips to his cheek, giving his a soft kiss. With a smile, she pulled back and headed up a nearby staircase, leaving James there, stunned and wondering.  
  
**"Happy Christmas, James." **


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**  
  
"Oye, Hestia, you coming to the game t'day?" Sirius questioned, wrapping his arm around the girl sitting at his side. With a giggle, the girl nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for my life!"  
  
It was yet another Quidditch game. Unfortunately, Hufflepuff had defeated Slytherin in their previous match. Gryffindor was against Ravenclaw in this one, but the winners would face off.  
  
"I just hope we win," Lily said thoughtfully from her place beside the fire. James, who'd still been thinking about that time before Christmas, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, gotta kick Hufflepuff's a – " "JAMES!" "What?" James asked innocently, looking over at Lily's laughing face.  
  
"Yep. Chaser's got the better job, though," Sirius grinned to James, but he just shook his head. "Nah, Seeker does. They get all the attention," He said slyly. Yes, he was back to his old, arrogant and egotistic self after the holidays.  
  
Hestia sighed and stood up. "I'm just glad we've gotten this far. Ravenclaw's gotten good this year. Did you see how they whooped Slytherin the other day?" She whistled a dieing note. "Break a leg, eh, James? Get the Snitch before they do or else we'll lose the Quidditch Cup this year."  
  
James grinned, then looked at Lily. "Will you be there, Evans?" Lily rolled here eyes and spun around on her end. "Of course I will be. Do you really think I'm going to miss Gryffindor get to the top? Didn't think so," she added when James shook his head. Yawning, Lily stood. "Well, I'm off to go study. Must hit the books sometime, you know," She snorted, exiting the room.  
  
Sirius shrugged and went back to muttering things to Hestia that made her either elbow him or giggle like a mad woman. James shook his head to the two and set his mind on other things. Like mistletoe and what to do when you like someone more than ever . . .  
  
"Well, today is a beautiful day! For Quidditch, that is!" The voice echoed above many others as maroon streaks hit the field on one side. Navy blue struck the other. It was time for the game to begin. "And the Bludgers are released, following up comes the Golden Snitch. And the Quaffle is up – And the game begins!"  
  
Lily and Hestia sat the closest, watching the two boys, Sirius and James, fly around the field swiftly. James took his position high above the field to look for the Snitch while Sirius dove around and stole the Quaffle from one of Ravenclaw's Chasers, Ling Chang.  
  
"And Black has the Quaffle! He take aim – But the Ravenclaw Keeper knocks it away to Chang!" Jacob Jordan yelled, leaning back in the box he sat at rubbing his head. As a loyal Gryffindor, he commented better on Gryffindor's side, of course. "Chang tries aiming at the goal – Save it Patil!" A groan was heard from the Gryffindor section as Aaron Patil, the Gryffindor Keeper, failed to save it. Mumbling curses for everyone to hear, Jordan continued, "And Ravenclaw leads Gryffindor, ten to nil. And Chang has the Quaffle again . . ."  
  
The Quaffle was passed around several more times. Ravenclaw was up by fifty points already, leading by seventy-to-twenty. Sirius couldn't make any shots because none of the Chasers were able to get the Quaffle on the Gryffindor team.  
  
A groan came from Lily. "Hestia, you weren't kidding when you said that Ravenclaw got better, now were you?" Hestia was pulling her hair and growling in frustration. "If they would only give Sirius an opening, Lily! One! That's all I'm asking . . ." Hestia grumbled as she leaned over the side of the box to see the action a bit closer.  
  
"What's this? Ravenclaw's Seeker Davies has seen the Snitch! James, you better hurry up and get your butt over there!" As the Ravenclaws cheered, the Gryffindors held their breath. Indeed, the Snitch was seen fluttering a few feet in front of the Ravenclaw Seeker. James was high on his tail.  
  
Davies swerved a couple of times to shake James off, but in doing so, they both lost the Snitch. "Well," Lily said with a sigh, "At least we're up a bit." Jordan had just announced Gryffindor gaining on Ravenclaw by thirty more points. Now it was eighty-to-fifty, Ravenclaw still in the lead, though not by much more. Sirius had scored twice in the amount of time it took James and Davies to loose the Snitch.  
  
"Oye, this game's going to be long," Hestia muttered beneath her breath as Ravenclaw made another impossible goal. The score soon became one hundred-to-fifty. Gryffindor couldn't possibly win this one. Ravenclaw was just too damn good this year.  
  
A few times, James feinted, Davies following after him, but not crashing into the ground like Cessily had during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. At last, the Snitch was seen by Davies again, who didn't think about shaking James off.  
  
"Go James! Oh, please win!" Lily clenched her fists so tight that her knuckled turned the white color of flour.  
  
James rammed into Davies a few times, trying to knock him off course, even though it didn't work. The Snitch aimed skyward, obviously, as the boys flew up high in a twister like fashion. Davies crashed into James as a Bludger was hit in his direction. James's jaw tightened as he followed the Snitch still.  
  
Suddenly, a Ravenclaw Beater flew beneath James and smashed his knee in with the bat she was carrying. A cry emitted throughout the now hushed stadium. Before James took a fall that most would die of, he closed his fingers around the struggling ball of gold painfully. His eyes, watery with tears of pain, he looked into the crowd where Lily stood, horror stricken.  
  
Then he blacked out.  
  
"James? James! Oh, good, you're awake!" A weight crashed onto his stomach.  
  
"Lily?" He said groggily, sitting up.  
  
The girl was bent over him, her eyes red. Hestia was sitting in the corner, chewing her nails like she always did when she was nervous to the point of near death. Sirius was beside her, clutching his hands together in a knot.  
  
"James, the fall you took . . ." Lily's voice drifted off and he buried her face in the sheets again. James gave her a questioning look. Hestia stood up and both her and Sirius made their way to James's side.  
  
"James," Sirius said with a tone of one who wasn't joking, "You fell from fifty feet in the air. Your leg was completely broken when Madame O'Reily got to you." Sirius motioned to the Hogwarts nurse who bustled about ticking her tongue. "But on the other hand, we won."  
  
James blinked, then thumped his head back against his pillow. Broken leg. Psh. Now how was he supposed to win against Hufflepuff? Gryffindor would have to forfeit just because of him! Lily seemed to look up at that point, rubbing her eyes. It was late, but not later than dinner.  
  
"Oh, and Hues got her memory back," Lily muttered defeatedly. She was hoping the girl would just stay without a memory. Either way, she was stupid. "So the Hufflepuff match is still on. They say we'll need a new Seeker, seeing as you won't be able to fly until a month. And the match is next week." Sirius nodded, agreeing with Lily.  
  
"So I guess we'll have to be without you, Mate," Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and sighed. Hestia stopped biting her nails long enough to speak as well.  
  
"They're going to have try-outs tomorrow. Sirius says it is a bit soon, but they need time to train the person," she said, cutting herself off to go back to gnawing on her already stubby nails.  
  
"Alright," James said, sighing. "Just tell me who you get, ok? I don't want it to be someone completely clueless as to how you play the stupid game." Lily looked around, then spoke. "I heard Madame O'Reily say that you might be able to walk next week, though. With a cast, of course. You know, one of those Muggle things." James nodded. "She said that she ran out of the liquid you need for a full recovery, but you will be able to walk."  
  
"I hear you," James nodded.  
  
"Out, out! I will not have my patient bothered! He needs sleep, if he'd going to go about healing the Muggle way!" The shriek of Madame O'Reily was heard. Sirius, Hestia, and Lily all bid their good-byes as they were shooed away.  
  
"See you tomorrow," all three of them said.  
  
The next morning was a bright one. James's owl brought him the Daily Prophet and he exchanged it for a few galleons to pay for it. His leg was still feeling very painful, but much less so than the day before. At least he could wiggle his toes. This Muggle 'cast' thing didn't seem so bad.  
  
"Oh, hey, Sirius," James grinned, putting on his glasses and sitting up in bed. Sirius was out of breath and in his Quidditch robes. Sweat was pouring down his face, but a grin was tugging at his lips. "What's up?" James said, putting down the Daily Prophet. Sirius sure wanted to get here in a hurry, it seemed. Wonder what for . . .  
  
"James, Mate! We found us a new Seeker!" Sirius panted, wiping his forehead.  
  
"That was quick! It's only about eight in the morning," James said, trying to suppress a shocked expression but failing.  
  
"Yeah! We put up little posters all around the Common Room last night after we got shoved out of here," Sirius nodded. "About twenty people showed up. But none, and when I said none, I mean none, could compare to the one we found, James." Sirius's grin was now scaring James half to death.  
  
"Sirius . . .Who'd you get?" James said, raising a questioning eyebrow.  
  
**"Lily Evans, James, Lily!"**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**  
  
"Lily! Congratulations!" Hestia locked her friend in a giant bear hug. Lily was grinning literally from ear to ear. She was so happy about becoming Seeker. Everyone else was real bad, except for a fifth year that tried out. She nearly fell off of her broom out of confusion. He'd been fast.  
  
"Oh, Hestia, I'm so glad I actually got it!" Lily nodded. Her face was as bright as ever. They sat next to each other in the Great Hall that day at lunchtime. Neither of them had seen James or Sirius that day, but it was pretty obvious that Sirius was probably helping James around the castle. Madame O'Reily still hadn't gotten that order she placed for the bone-mending fluids he needed.  
  
"Wonder what James will say?" Hestia nudged her friend, giving her a friendly wink. Lily blushed.  
  
"He'll probably hate me. Quidditch is his thing, and here I go, replacing him for the rest of the year," Lily sighed and let her shoulders fall. She really didn't want James to dislike her, the way they'd been getting along lately. Lily could swear she almost had him at Christmastime, but he seemed to slip away.  
  
"Oh, look, there he and Sirius come now," Hestia whispered, pointing to the entrance of the Great Hall.  
  
James stood there, though not in any visible cast. It was either invisible, or the cast was something odd, Lily thought to herself. Then again, she saw James bend his knee. She knew something was up right then.  
  
"James, where's your cast?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Don' need it." He muttered with a slight grin, limping to the other side of the table. Sirius shrugged. "He told me to take it off for him today. I figured it wouldn't do no harm."  
  
"How arrogant," Lily grumbled and James looked up with a grin. "That's my name."  
  
They all ate in silence, Lily not saying anything about Quidditch and James not mentioning anything about it, although Sirius had probably already told him that she made the cut.  
  
"So, Padfoot," James said, regaining his usual mischievous tone that he'd only used when he was trying to get Lily's attention the past six years, "What's up on schedule for today? Y'know, last few weeks of school, our schedule is pretty full of Slytherin pranking that we forgot to do all year."  
  
Sirius shook his head. "Aye, we have missed out on quite a bit of that. Although I think it'd be best just to do something little." Taking out his wand, Sirius waved it and a bucket of cold water, from the looks of people's reactions, dumped itself on Snape's head across the Great Hall. A yelp emitted from the boy and he glared towards the Gryffindor table where Sirius had already pocketed his wand and shoveled a spoon full of peas into his mouth.  
  
James snickered. Lily and Hestia looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and stood up, exiting the Great Hall. "Oye," Sirius said, swallowing, "You better go after Lily. Hestia and I don' need to worry about stuff like that." James sighed and nodded, standing up and limping out of the Great Hall.  
  
"Potter!" A cold hiss came from behind him. Spinning on his heel, however painful it was for him, James faced a greasy headed boy whose hair was soaked through, as well as his robes, with icy cold water.  
  
"Snivelly, how good to see you," James smirked, slowly and silently slipping his hand into his pocket to retrieve his wand. Snape's eyes darted to James's hand and his eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't try anything, Potter. You're forgetting who is able to walk on two legs without limping." A cold grin slipped upon Snape's lips.  
  
"You got me," James rolled his eyes. "Ah, who cares? Go sit you with your greasy friends, King of Grease." James turned to limp up the staircases, but was hit with a spell in the middle of his back. Falling forward, James's lip bust open from hitting the stairs. Touching his lip, he groaned and flipped over to see Snape with his wand out. A girl stood behind him, her pigtails flopping.  
  
"You see, Potter, you seemed to like blowing my girlfriend's mind to bits. Let's see how you like yours done the same, shall we?" James bit his bleeding lip and glared up at Snape as if he didn't care what happened to him. Truth be told, James was scared witless. He didn't want his memory erased. He wanted to remember his friends, his school, Lily . . .  
  
"Wand down, Snape," A voice from above echoed in the empty corridor. James tilted his head back to see a red haired angel standing only a few steps away from him.  
  
"Aye, Lily, I don' need your help," James snorted, pulling himself to his feet and taking out his wand. Lily glared down at him, marching down the stairs. But as Snape's wand fired off with a shout of '_Obliviate!_' Lily had to think fast.  
  
"_Disemeriate_!" Lily's wand shot off a purple jet towards the beam of light headed towards James. The spell that was meant to discontinue a memory charm worked to its truth. A bang sounded and Snape was on the floor, being helped up by Cessily.  
  
"Ooooh, if I didn't want to beat you so bad next week, I'd smack you!" Cessily growled angrily. She really should've been in Slytherin, Lily thought. With a fake look of terror, Lily mused, "I'm shaking in my robes." Smirking as Snape and Cessily stalked away, Lily helped James up the flight of stairs, then went back to get her books she'd dropped in the process of protecting him.  
  
"Potter," Lily growled as she bent down to pick up her books, "You better be thankful I was here. I'm the only student who even knows that spell." James looked at the ground, clearly ashamed of himself.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I was acting like a fool, that's all. Just wish I could play Quidditch again . . ." James sighed and scuffed his good foot against the ground. Lily looked up to him, and seeing depressed look, sighed as well. Walking back up to him, she touched his lip but only slightly.  
  
"I see the staircase jumped out at you," Lily smiled slightly. James smirked and shook his head, looking down again. Lily shrugged and looked around. "Well, we'd best be going. We've got Potions after lunch and I don't want to be late. Now all I need to do is get this here – Wait, where's my Potions book?" Lily looked around, completely bewildered.  
  
James whistled and caught Lily's attention. As he leaned against the wall, a book swung in his hands. A grin appeared on his face. "Give me my book, James," Lily sighed and rubbed her head. James shook his and held the book in the air.  
  
"Nah, I think I'll just hold onto it for a while. Y'know, like a week or so . . ." James smirked, telling Lily that he was up to his tricks that he hadn't done since the previous year. Lily only rose and eyebrow and stepped towards him.  
  
"Oh, you better give it to me, Potter," Lily said in a hushed tone.  
  
"Or what?" James grinned. Lily couldn't possibly do anything to make him give her the book he'd taken.  
  
"Or this," Lily said, stepping yet closer.  
  
"Wait . . .Wh-what're you doing?" James stuttered, backing up against the wall. Bad move, Lily thought with a smirk. Gently, she pressed her lips to his. James was in obvious shock because he didn't seem to do anything.  
  
A few moments later, Lily had gone up the next set of staircases to the Common Room to get her bags. Somehow, she'd gotten her Potions book. James's face was as red as a tomato.  
  
"L-lily?" He stuttered yet again.  
  
"Yeah?" She questioned with a grin.  
  
** "G'luck next week, Seeker."**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11  
**  
It was the day of the last Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, the match everyone was intensely waiting for. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs weren't very friendly with each other the whole of that week. Ravenclaws didn't know who to cheer on, while Slytherins weren't on anyone's side.  
  
"Boy, I'm nervous," Lily said, wringing her hands as they sat in the room all Gryffindors went to before the game. She was wearing Quidditch robes that fit very loosely on her, as they were James's. They couldn't find any robes that fit her, seeing as she was so small. Sirius clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned down at her.  
  
"Don' worry, Evans. Just catch the Snitch and we'll be ok." His voice was calm, but yet a bit nervous. Lily could tell he wasn't sure if she could actually win the game for them. She was a bit clumsy on a broom, but her eyesight was the best on the Gryffindor team. Lily sighed, trying to keep from shaking out of nervousness.  
  
"I sure hope I can," Lily mumbled beneath her breath. With a deep breath in, she dug in the pockets of her robe to find a hair tie, in which she did. She pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, making sure that every last strand of hair was secured by the band. Sirius shook his head, over hearing her nervous reply.  
  
"Nah. Don't hope. _Know_ you can get it and you will." Those words were somewhat comforting in Lily's ears. Sirius had never spoken words of wisdom around her, but if there were a time for firsts, this was surely it. With a grin, Lily stood up. "Thanks Sirius."  
  
Lily stood with the rest of the team members, clutching a broom at her side. Sweat was already pouring down her face as she wiped it from her eyes. The day was scorching hot. Patil was already mumbling something about being surprised if everyone didn't drop dead from heat stroke. Lily snorted at that.  
  
"What a fine day for Quidditch!" Jordan's voice rung over the crowd, receiving rounds of applause all over the stadium. Lily's hand tightened around the broom handle. "Two wins for both teams that are here today, yet only one will walk away with the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup!" Yet another shriek of applause echoed through the field.  
  
"And now, introducing the team that had gotten far this year, the Hufflepuffs!" Boos came from the Gryffindor side, but were drown out by the claps and whistles that came from the Hufflepuff stands. Lily glared out onto the field as she saw Cessily fly out ever so gracefully and take position above the rest of the team.  
  
"Yes, yes, the Hufflepuffs are a real well-off team. But now! The team that has lost a great player, but has gotten an even better one, Gryffindor! Get well James, you go Lily!" Lily laughed to herself at that as she kicked off on her broom and swerved, pulling herself into position directly in front of Cessily.  
  
"We're going to win whether you like it or not, Evans," was the cold hiss the girl said while grinning menacingly at her opponent. Lily cocked an eyebrow, her mouth pursed together tightly. "You only wish, Hues," Lily replied in an equally deadly voice. They weren't even paying attention to the crowd or announcements.  
  
"And the Bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch! Now, remember, folks, the Seeker that catches the Snitch ends the game and awards their house one hundred and fifty points. They also win the cup for their house," Jordan said, his voice just barely cutting through the noise in the stadium. "Quaffle's up – And the game begins!"  
  
Lily and Cessily pulled themselves around, taking off to opposite ends of the field to search for their prize. Lily's emerald eyes were hard at searching for the walnut-sized orb. "Yek!" Lily flipped over, narrowly avoiding a Bludger that was aimed for her head. "Watch out for those, Lily, they hurt," was Jordan's mock sentence. Lily looked back at him to stick her tongue out at him.  
  
"And Black has the Quaffle, but it's intercepted by Diggory who passes it to Bones . . .But! Prewett intercepts it again and scores! Leading Gryffindor ten to zero." Lily grinned, leaning over on her broom to look for the Snitch. Her eye caught the crowd, seeing Hestia standing by James. Both their faces were bright, but it did good to see James with a hopeful look expressing itself on his features. This gave Lily an extra boost of confidence.  
  
Lily saw Cessily swerve down, and immediately did so herself. But her eyes searched in front of the girl as she dived to the ground. She's feinting, Lily told herself. The Snitch was nowhere to be seen. As Cessily pulled up, Lily saw that she was angered that Lily didn't fall for it. A smirk bore itself on Lily's lips.  
  
"Oh, that's got to hurt!" The crowd hissed and Jordan announced. Lily looked down to see Sirius clutching his hand. A Bludger had come by and slammed full force into it, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. Diggory was now going to score a goal. His aim was true, giving Hufflepuff ten points, making the houses tied.  
  
"The score is ten to ten, Gryffindor now with the Quaffle. Might want to get some ice on that after the game, Sirius," Jordan pointed out. Lily searched the field yet again and didn't see a thing. Cessily flew past her a few times, just to intimidate Lily. Replying to that, Lily kicked the girl in the shin as she flew by once. When she received a glare, Lily pointed to a Bludger nearby.  
  
The game went on as usual, Gryffindor now leading by thirty points, making the score seventy-to-forty. The Snitch was nowhere in sight, which clearly made both Lily and Cessily both mad and anxious. They wanted the game to end, but on different terms. Lily wanted to win, as did Cessily. Either way, the girls would still hate each other.  
  
As the game progressed, Gryffindor lost the lead, just as it had during the match against Ravenclaw, but the Hufflepuffs weren't playing fairly at all. Bludgers were aimed at heads, chests, and even backs. Some bats had collided with someone's head at one point. Lily groaned. "They've been taking lessons from the Slytherins, I swear."  
  
Then, all at once as the score was one hundred thirty to one hundred ten, Lily saw it. A small hint of gold was floating in the center of the Quidditch field. Lily looked up to see Cessily still scanning the field. Diving, Lily headed towards the Snitch. "And it looks like Lily Evans, replacement for Gryffindor Seeker, has seen the Snitch!" Jordan's hoarse voice boomed. "Damn it, curse him for breathing," Lily muttered as she saw Cessily head towards the Snitch in the same pattern Lily herself was.  
  
"Give it up, Hues, you'll never reach it!" Lily growled, yelling over the noise of cheers and boos. "Me? Ha! You're the one who's not going to make it!" The high-pitched voice was icy. Cessily and Lily nearly ran into each other until the Snitch decided to rear upwards, turning both of the girls skyward.  
  
"You'll never win, you stupid girl!" Cessily shoved Lily in the shoulder, knocking her off course. But Lily regained her posture and did the same, only harder, knocking Cessily completely out of line. Lily's arm was outstretched, reaching for the golden sphere that was only just out of her reach. Then it took a dive.  
  
By the time Lily was near the ground, still chasing the Snitch, Cessily had gained on her again, a glint of evil piercing her otherwise kind eyes. A sound swished past her ear and Lily ducked as a Bludger aimed at her head just barely missed again. Cessily moved to the side to let the thing pass.  
  
"C'mon Evans! Potter would've caught the stupid thing by now! You'll never live up to his potential!" Cessily laughed coldly, pulling up beside Lily as the Snitch dove beneath the field. The wooden beams would pose a problem here for Lily, as she didn't know how to avoid them one after another.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, you couldn't live up to anyone's potential, as you're so incompetent that you have to go out with a slime ball!" This seemed to anger Cessily enough to scream as Lily pulled up out from beneath the field after the Snitch. They were now hovering just a few feet above the field.  
  
"You'll pay for that one, Evans!" The screeching banshee behind her had come up along her side again. This time every bit of hatred spilled out of Cessily and onto Lily into the form of an elbow jabbing itself into a ribcage. Lily gasped, sucking in air, as all of hers was lost. Water filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Now she didn't care if she lost. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.  
  
"_Foul_! That was foul!" Jordan's voice screamed over the crowd as he stood up in his box. A teacher pressed him back into his seat, though. Lily pulled over to the side, clutching her ribs. Sirius dove down, seeing she needed help. "You alright, Lily?" His voice was full of concern, but not that of which Lily needed to hear. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, heading off in a swift movement towards the Snitch and the idiot that was following it.  
  
"Hues!" Lily shouted, slamming into the girl. Cessily was wearing an evil grin that made Lily shudder. Something didn't feel right. Then, a Bludger landed squarely in the center of her back. With a yelp, she bolted forward, ignoring the pain that was searing throughout the middle of her back. Blinking back tears, she closed her hands around the small struggling ball that was the Snitch.  
  
"_NO_!" Cessily screamed, slamming her feet into the ground. Her halt was near fatal, as she hadn't slowed down enough. The girl was sent tumbling to the ground, nearly breaking her neck in the process. Lily looked over to her, landing softly and running over to the girl. "Cessily, are you alright?" She said, trying to be helpful. "Get away from me you – you _Mudblood_!" Lily was taken aback. Never had she heard a Hufflepuff utter that word, let alone anyone outside of the Slytherin house. Stepping back, Lily watched as Madame O'Reily and a few other Hufflepuff team members carted the raging girl off.  
  
"Lily! Lily you did it! We won the cup!" Gryffindors poured onto the field like rain during a thunderstorm. Hestia's voice was among many of the others. Sirius landed beside her, giving her a giant but friendly hug. Hestia did as well. "You both were excellent! Brilliant! I've never seen anything in all my life that exciting!" Lily smiled.  
  
"Lily! By Gods, you're better than me!" James was standing behind Hestia. Lily only saw him when Hestia went off to congratulate Sirius. Lily smiled up at him, then looked to the sky. The Snitch that was clutched in her hand flew free as Lily threw it into the air happily.  
  
"That was one of the best games of Quidditch I've ever seen, Lily," James stood in front of her, a smile tugging at his lips. Lily had never seen a smile upon his face. A smirk, sure, or maybe even a grin. But never a smile. "I could never take your place, James," Lily said, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. James squeezed her back. "No, I could never take your place, Lily."  
  
Lily and James stood there amongst the crowd, holding onto each other as if their life depended on it. As they broke apart momentarily, they both stared into each other's eyes, Lily into hazel, James into emerald. A smile broke out onto Lily's face. As if nothing else mattered, they both pulled themselves back together, but this time somewhat differently.  
  
They were off in their own world then, Lily and James. It was like the time after James broke his leg, only with more feeling as the lips of both touched. This time, it wasn't just Lily. It was both she and James. When they broke apart, Lily's face reddened when all of the Gryffindor team as well as everyone else in Gryffindor broke out into whistles and applause. It seemed that they were waiting for that as long as Lily and James were.  
  
"Well," Sirius said with a grin, his hand wrapped around Hestia's waist. "This isn't the time or place to be having a snog session, James. Nor you, Lily." Hestia giggled at his side. Lily rolled her eyes and James shook his head. Sirius snorted at the expression of both. "Party in the Common Room!" he shouted, and all of Gryffindor yelled 'Aye!' in return. It was only Lily and James left on the field after that.  
  
"Well, that was a bit unexpected," Lily said, looking down. The ground had suddenly become interesting to her eyes. James blinked and put a hand on her shoulder. "Not really. As it were, it happened before Christmas, too, if you don't remember," Lily looked up at his face, telling he was serious about that. "I remember."  
  
"So, err . . .What does this mean? Are we together or what, because I don't want to – " But James was cut off by Lily's lips upon his again. She giggled when he shook his head, pinching himself to see if it were a dream. "Stop asking questions that you already know the answer to."  
  
"So, that means it's a no?" James said, his spirits dropping as well as his expression. Lily sighed. "No, it means yes, James." The saddened expression was dropped like a hot potato and replaced by one of pure happiness. James swept Lily up into his arms as she clung onto his neck so she wouldn't fall. "To the Common Room!" He announced loudly.  
  
Lily snorted and hugged him tighter, though not in fear of him dropping her. "Y'know, I thought this year would be a total waste," she whispered. "Was it?"  
  
**"Not at all."**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12  
**  
The last day of school had come for the four. Hestia and Sirius were as smitten with each other as two love birds were. The Hogwarts atmosphere was one of tension, sadness, and happiness all put into one. All the couples had been together on that one last day, except for Lily and James.  
  
Both went around the school, avoiding each other for a reason no one could figure out, moping through the hallways, sulking in the corridors. Once or twice, Hestia would ask Lily how she and James were doing. She would just grimly smile and shake her head. James did almost the same thing, though with Sirius asking the questions.  
  
"Sirius, d'you see how Lily and James are acting?" Hestia tugged on the boy's arm. Sirius sighed and nodded. "They should really work out their problems, you know." With that, the two walked down the corridor to the Great Hall in search of their friends.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily sat in the Common Room, her eyes teary and her cheeks damp. She'd never expected to feel this hurt in all of her life. After today, she wouldn't see any of her friends. Nor James. And, as if on cue, the boy sulked down into the room, his face more downtrodden than anything Lily had ever seen. She looked up to him, her eyes puffy and red.  
  
"Lily," James murmured, beginning to say something but not having the heart to. With a frustrated sigh, he planted himself next to Lily. In only seconds after their eyes met, Lily was sobbing into James's robes, clinging to him like a sock fresh out of the drier. "It's gonna be ok, Lily . . ." James whispered, reassuring her as well as himself. In reality, he had no clue what would happen after they left. All he knew at that moment was that he wanted to see Lily's shining face at least once after they'd left. That'd make him more than happy.  
  
"I don't wanna leave Hogwarts," she choked out between fresh waves of tears. "It's my home – My life. What am I going to do without it?" James ran his hand up and down her back, holding her tighter. Thank the stars that no one else was there, James thought mentally. He hated for people to see Lily crying.  
  
"It's ok. I'll help you any way I can, Lily." With a sniff, Lily wiped her eyes on her arm and smiled up at James, giving a slightly hollow laugh. "You must think I'm real pathetic, huh?" She said, still wiping her tear-stricken face. James smiled grimly and shook his head. "No. You could never be pathetic. Besides, I know exactly how you feel."  
  
Lily and James sat there holding each other for a few minutes. With a sigh, Lily stood up, only to be pulled back down, this time on top of James. Rolling her eyes, Lily shook her head at the boy. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She said in a falsely angry tone. James gave her a smirk. "This," he whispered, then pulled her head down to meet his, pressing his lips to hers.  
  
"Ahem," a clearing of the throat was heard at the portrait hole. Looking up, both Lily and James scrambled to their feet, slightly embarrassed. "Hello, Sirius. What brings you here?" James said, loosening his tie slightly. Lily was half hiding behind him, half peering out from behind him. She waved to Hestia who just laughed.  
  
"Well, this happens to be the Gryffindor Common Room, isn't it? And I do think I'm a Gryffindor, James." Sirius snorted. Then, looking to Hestia, he winked. "But, I see this room has already been taken, so Hestia and I'll have to find a different place to snog. G'day!" Sirius and Hestia ran out of the Common Room like a bullet firing out of a pistol. He just narrowly avoided the pillow that was chucked at him.  
  
"Now, where were we?" James said slyly, tackling Lily back into the sofa. With a laugh, Lily pushed him off and sat up. "Well, this sure did lighten my day," she said, calming her fit of giggled. James stared at her, leaning on his arm. "Hmmm, which part? The snogging or the being interrupted?" Lily just whacked him with a pillow. "What'd I say?"  
  
Lunchtime came and went, as did dinner. Lily was up in her dorm with Hestia, packing her trunk. Her bottom lip was bleeding from the pressure her teeth put on it, for she bit her lip to keep from bursting into tears. Hestia could tell her friend was hurting; so she did what she thought would help her. "Lily, how're you and James?" Hestia said, lugging her trunk over to her friend's bed. Lily's eyes watered.  
  
"We're doing great, actually," she said, the stinging in her eyes becoming even greater. "Very well . . .I just wish that – that . . ." Lily collapsed on her bed, tears streaming down her face. Hestia sat next to her friend, holding her like a sister. Slowly, Hestia rocked her, trying to get her to calm down. "It's ok Lily, believe me," she muttered to her sobbing friend. "That's what he said!" Lily wailed again, wiping her eyes to only have them become clouded with tears again.  
  
Sighing, Hestia got up, telling Lily to just sit there for a while. With a nod from her, Hestia stalked out of the Girls' dormitory. In a few moments, James was up there. "How'd you get up here? This is the Girls' dorm!" Lily said, trying to hide the fact that she was crying. It didn't seem to work.  
  
"Well, when one's friend is up here sobbing herself half to death, you kinda get some mercy from the staircase," James said, planting himself next to Lily for the second time that day. Hestia, who leaned against the doorway, turned to leave. "I'll leave you two alone. I gotta go find Sirius," and with a wave of her hand, Hestia was gone.  
  
"James, I just can't help it. I feel like my family isn't going to be here anymore," her voice trailed off as she spoke. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop crying. A well had opened up inside of her and it would stop flowing until it was dry and empty. James sighed, feeling helpless to Lily's silent pleas for help. Wrapping his arms around her as he'd done earlier.  
  
"Lily, I know this is hard for you, but can you imagine what it's doing to the rest of the students? Their friends and their loved ones won't even be seen by them for another few years. Besides, I know that we'll see each other," James said with a half smile. Lily looked up at him, questioning what he meant.  
  
"What do you mean, James?"  
  
"I – I'll tell you later," he said a bit uncomfortably. He frowned, lines creasing his forehead. Lily sighed. "Don't worry, I will tell you though."  
  
"Sure . . ."  
  
The sun had set along the horizon as student after student loaded their luggage onto the Hogwarts Express on its way back home. Lily stood by herself, wondering where James was. "He's not coming," Lily said to herself. She'd thought that since earlier, the well had dried up. Apparently not, because her eyes began to water again. "Oh, look at yourself, Lillian Evans. You're bawling like a baby," she muttered to herself, glaring.  
  
"Lily," a deep voice came from behind her as a hand rest itself upon her shoulder. Lily turned around, knowing that voice onto too well, and threw her arms around James's neck. "What was it that you were going to tell me, James?" She whispered in his ear.  
  
"Well . . ." He began, but he was cut off by Lily. "Oh, and before you say anything, I want to tell you something first." Lily muttered, releasing him.  
  
"This whole year . . .Well, Hestia gave me an idea. She said to drop hints to the boy I've had a crush on since forever, or at least, since I've known him. . .I did just that. Do you think he would've noticed by now and said something, or what?" Lily said, trying to choose her words carefully. James thought for a moment, then smiled.  
  
"He's already gotten your hints," he said, his chocolate eyes shining. Lily smiled.  
  
"Good."  
  
"Now for my half of the story," James said, breathing in deeply. "I've been thinking. We probably aren't going to see each other much after this year but – Now Lily, don't cry, please – But I wanted to make sure we would." His fidgeted for a moment. Lily raised an eyebrow. "What're you saying, James Potter?"  
  
"Well, Lily, it'd kill me to never see you again. So, I was wondering if . . .Well . . .Well, you know the thing with the flowers and the ring, and the fancy stuff but I don't have a ring and I don't want to get my knees dirty and scuffed by kneeling so I dunno if what I'm saying is actually doing anything but – Hey, what're you looking at?"  
  
Lily's eyes were brighter than ever. Although James was rambling endlessly, she knew exactly what he meant. "You, of course, James. And of course I will, you dolt." She playfully punched him in the arm. James's eyes lit up. "You're serious? You'll – Well, you know . . .M-marry me?" He stuttered, his face going ten shades of crimson. Lily's eyes filled with tears, though not of sadness. She nodded.  
  
James grabbed her under the arms and swung her in the air. Lily laughed and clung onto his neck, wiping her eyes with her fingers. Their eyes met momentarily before their lips met. James cupped Lily's cheek with his hand as he held her there, his other arm wrapped around her waist. Lily's arms where fastened behind James's neck as they stood there. After a minute or two, the couple broke apart, both smiling as brightly as the sun.  
  
"You know how they say at the end of those stories, James?" Lily asked as they boarded the train, hand in hand.  
  
"No, what?"  
  
**"And they lived happily ever after."**


	14. Thanks

**Thanks So Much!**  
  
I absolutely_ love_ you, reviewers! You all made me want to continue writing the story, instead of making me drop it like a hot potato. Right now, I want to thank each and every one of you. This is my first fiction that's actually longer than eight chapters. Again, thank you!  
  
**Celebrimiel Hirilaure** – Eep! My first reviewer! I took your advice and added more hints from Lily, though I'm not sure if they're very many of them. Still, thanks for being the first one to review my story.  
  
**MaD-4-u** – You reviewed almost all of my chapters. Yet you were a bit pushy with the hurry up and finish it part. Oo Anyways, I still have to thank you for reviewing my story so many times. I can't count how many times you reviewed. Thanks.   
  
**LilyPad-7879** – I read your fan fiction! It was real good, though for some reason my review sender thingy isn't working. I don't know why that is, but I'll have to fix it. Anyways, thank you for reviewing. I'm glad that you loved the story. You're the first to actually say you loved it. That gave me a boost of confidence. Thanks!  
  
**CilverBlood** – Thanks for reviewing. I updated as soon as I saw that review. Thanks much!  
  
**The Lord of Pencil** – Eep, you're pushy. Oo I made the chapters as long as I could without having my fingers fall off. If I typed any more than that, I wouldn't have any fingers to type with, therefore the story couldn't continued, now could it? Hmm? Bust Brown. -.- Anyways, tanks for reviewing most of my chapters. I'm glad you liked it, though wanted the chapters longer. I might make a sequel with even more and longer chapters.  
  
**Chantal J** – I'm glad you liked the story. I know it's brilliant; I made it! Nah, I'm just playing around. I'm not that egotistic. Ok, sure, I could give James a run for his money, but who's counting on that? ;;  
  
**Zayne** – I'm glad you think the story is good . . .Opposed to what, though? Oo  
  
**VickiIcky** – You love my story? I'm honored. I've never had someone say that they loved my stories before, except for when I made this story. Then all the 'love you story's started showing up. Anyways, thanks. And I will update you if I find any real good Lily and James fictions. And nu, I'm not killing James. He too cute . . .I didn't say that.   
  
**Marauders-Girl-08** – Glad you liked it. I updated as soon as possible. I even put up five in one day, believe it or not. Yes I did, I'm a good author. Oo Anyways, thanks.  
  
**SoyaMonkey** – Eek, you must really like this story. Glad you do, though, because not many people like my fan fictions, usual. This is the first one with over twenty reviews that I've ever gotten, including yours. But I'm glad you like it. And thanks for the 'Constructive' criticism. ;; But I'm most glad that this is your favorite story. I'll write a sequel if enough people say they like it enough to have one. But I'm kinda sorry that's what you're going through. I based it off of what I'm going through right now, as well. Odd.  
  
**Morning Lily ( Anonymous )** – You like? I like. Yes, I based Cessily off of this evil person I used to know . . .And she was evil, I say! Same name, except for the last name. I don't use my friends/enemies last names, even if I hate their guts. Oo I hope you got what more of the story you said you needed.   
  
**ShortiiBabi** – Wow, thanks for the compliment! That really gave me a boost to my ego. I'm an awesome writer, I'm an awesome writer . . .  
  
**MandyZCool** – I updated, I updated! Obviously, because I'm done with the story, but yeah, I updated.   
  
**LilCykoMonkey** – Thanks. It does me good to hear that my story is good. It really does.  
  
**Death Eater-O ( Anonymous )** – You never thought a fan fiction could be this good? What stories have you been reading, because they must be bad if mine's that good. But thanks for the review.   
  
**HarryLissa=Luv** – Wow, I'm glad so many people liked this story. I kept it up until I could think of no more! Thanks.   
  
**Tanya J Potter** – They got together in the second to last chapter, obviously. But I'm glad you reviewed. Made me wanna make it sooner than I planned, but I couldn't. Had to extend it to some point of cliff hangers to get people to throw rotten tomatoes and stuff at me . . .  
  
**Hermione Lizzy** – Yeah, I'm on this site I made that we have certain characters and I'm in Gryffindor as well. Well, looks like Gryffindor won, didn't they?   
  
**Mariel4** – Glad you liked it. Like I've said so many times, I updated it up to the point I could no longer think of something to write.  
  
**MonkeyGurl1** – Oo What's 'Hm' supposed to mean? Good or bad? ;;  
  
I'm so glad so many people liked my story that I just had to thank every single person that reviewed, Anonymous or not. Thanks so much, guys!  
  
Now, I might not write a sequel, but if you want one, just say so. But what I'm going to do is write another story. I'll just give you all a bit of what it's going to be about, M-kay?   
  
**Something Positive**  
  
It's the last year at Hogwarts for the Marauders and the rest of the lazy bums that go to the school. It gets kind of dull around the place. Even the Marauders can't think of something to do! But Lily comes up with a plan. She, Hestia Jones, Emmaline Vance, as well as a new girl get together to make their own trouble-making group, though the boys don't know why they are. But obviously, they fall in love with their opposites.  
  
Thanks again!  
- Carmen 


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